| Author | Message | ||
     Crusty |
Rocket; if I could ship a Sportster to Brisbane, Australia, then you could ship a Buell to St. John's. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
 Rockstock 2007  it'll be an axe-kickin' good time! | ||
| Court |
>>>>Both were too good to be subjected to the abuse of drunks One reason my Gibson J-40 will never be sold. . . it still has the crack in the body Mr. Livgren put in it in 1972, in a hotel room on the road. I still tease that he wrote the greatest elevator music of all time. In those days the name of the band, whilst we were all in high school, was White Clover. Guitars, like motorcycles, incubate memories. By the way, the Cap'n Pete does the Rockies video sits right here....and I must say it was one of the most enjoyable experiences I've ever sat through. There is something about music and venue that has the capacity to heighten both. I have, through pure blind luck, gotten on "the list" for what the magazines call the "impossilbe to get in to....being rich or famous won't do it, you have to be invited to this, most secret, "in home" gathering". It's conducted twice a month in Mike and Kathy's living room. Most the artists have 2 or 3 CD's on the market, but they are paid nothing. It's a round robin. Someone plays a piece, then it's handed off to the next in line. There are 4 each time along with the "house band" (quite literally a house in this case and 4 of the best musicians I've ever seen). I recently saw Stephanie Winters do a Cello performance that had me in tears. I'm eager to watch the 3F (Ferris Finds Frets) adventure. Music, again like motorcycles, does not require great skill and expereince to be fun. I can't play for crap but will spend 3 hours here today entertaining myself with the likes of Pacabel's Canon in D and Melissa by the Allman Brothers. Neither would pass muster in the cheesiest of joints, but they'll change my week. By the way, as I type this, my SCU is filling the house with music from the Grand Piano above me. . . she's much better than I, but it's not the music. . . it's the impact the music will have on her week. Print this out, stick in your guitar case and read it again in a year. By the way, I've never heard of the Garrison but it looks like a fine instrument and I think you've chosen wisely. Rock on wit yer fool self . . . | ||
| Rocketman |
'Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out' Greg and Dwayne Allman, 1968 FANTASTIC!! Rocket | ||
| Captpete |
Damn, Court, was that little bit above a veiled threat of forthcoming bribery? Don’t waste your time. The credit card companies are way ahead of you.  (And so is Blake. He already tried it.) You know what burns my a$$ more than a flame about 3 ft. high? It’s guys who sit home every night and play scales for three hours, and then tell you, “Man, I don’t know how to play this thing.” You poser! (You’re talking to the real deal, here!) (Just kidding. I know it’s all relative.) And I’m with you on the musical circle jerk. Back home we call ‘em guitar pulls. We had one going for a couple of years that was hosted by a blazing mandolin player, and they were great fun. He owned an art gallery located on the main drag in our quaint little ex fishing, now tourist town, and we would assemble there once a week in the evening. The cash register was closed, but the front door remained open, and spectators were all welcome, as well as musicians, posers or not. We had one guy who showed up every week with his D-28 and he sang with an invisible clothespin permanently attached to his nose. But what made it even more hilarious, were the visible hearing aids that he wore. When it was his turn to play, he’d crank ‘em both wide open, but it still wasn’t good enough, and he only heard himself. As a consequence, he could never keep a beat, and after the opening few bars, the whole bunch would get all discombobulated trying to keep up with him, and it would turn into the musical version of a house of cards imploding. And then to make it worse (or better, maybe) was that about half-way through the tune, one or both of those hearing aids would start feeding back so loud that we could hear it, and then he’d keep singing, but without the guitar going because he was busy slapping one of his ears. Man, it was a hoot, with everyone else biting his or her tongue or cheeks, trying not to laugh. (The audience loved it, once they figured out what was going on.) See how much fun you can have with this, Jerry? Capt. Pete | ||
| Denisea |
 | ||
| Sandblast |
Jerry, does EVERY thread you start have to turn into something epic?  You rock, and to hell with everybody (including myself) who tried to talk you into a starter guitar. I'm Glad you have a vision now. | ||
| Sandblast |
By the way, all this guitar talk is o.k., but if your gonna play in Texas (or anywhere else you want to sound good)...  | ||
| Sandblast |
Wow, I need to back off on the image compression. | ||
| Sandblast |
Here:  | ||
| Sandblast |
Thats a Washburn guitar, American made*, did not actually break the bank, and sounds and plays better than me. You can also see the highly coveted alligator piano, which somehow is louder than all my stuff put together. *I think, some models are outsourced (Message edited by sandblast on January 15, 2006) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
See how much fun you can have with this, Jerry? indeed. be a fret. be VERY a fret.  | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
ps Sandblast: great pix! | ||
| Sandblast |
Thanks. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
$25,000 Manning Award of Distinction Sponsored by CanWest Global Communications Corp. Chris Griffiths, Griffiths Active Bracing System,TM For more than 170 years, the world's guitar makers have been building their instruments essentially the same way. Chris Griffiths, a guitar player and bold young entrepreneur from St. John's, Newfoundland, was ready to strike a new chord - and rewrite guitar-making history. Griffiths started playing guitar at age 12. "I was always a tinkerer and always was taking apart clock radios and anything that I could get away with, to find out how it worked," he says. "I got my first electric guitar for Christmas that year and by Boxing Day had it completely disassembled." Griffiths fell in love with the instrument - not only with its outward beauty but its inner workings. After high school, Griffiths apprenticed at the Galloup Guitar Hospital in Big Rapids, Michigan. At 18, he started his first company - Griffiths Guitar Works in St. John's. In 1995, his company experienced delays from suppliers of lower-priced, imported acoustic guitars. Manufacturers weren't producing enough guitars in this price range to meet a growing demand. Griffiths saw an opportunity in the international market. "But the last thing I wanted to do was be a 'me, too' type of company," he says. "The only reason I was going to start a factory was if I thought I had a sustainable competitive advantage." With funding from the National Research Council of Canada, Griffiths hired two engineers and he travelled across North America to see how companies mass-produced their acoustic guitars. On a flight home to Newfoundland from a guitar factory in California, Griffiths turned to one of his engineers, Andy Fisher, and asked why nobody had ever built the acoustic guitar from one piece that integrated the binding, kerfing, bridge plate and all the internal braces. "It just sort of took off from there," recalls Griffiths, who sketched the idea on an airline napkin. Griffiths' vision, to mass-produce a high-quality yet affordable guitar from one internal core piece, was a truly radical departure. For almost two centuries, guitar makers had built each instrument using more than 30 individually machined and individually installed wooden components. Griffiths needed a material that would be at least as strong as the conventional wood frame of a guitar, to counteract the 150 pounds of pressure applied to the top of an acoustic guitar from the tuned strings. But the material also had to resonate like wood. "An acoustic guitar top is a mechanism for pushing air and creating sound waves," he explains. "So we need that top to vibrate as freely as possible in order to generate a good tone." For seven months, Griffiths and his engineers tested different materials that would have the structural and acoustic qualities of guitars constructed using traditional wood braces. They chose a composite material made of long-glass fibres that could be injected into a custom-made steel mold. If his idea worked, it would automatically produce a one-unit internal frame having the same traditional bracing pattern used in guitars built with many wooden components. If his vision failed, however, Griffiths would have to throw out the $150,000-mold and start anew. And the young entrepreneur was already struggling under a mountain of debt. By 2000, Griffiths had stopped working half-time at his company, Griffiths Guitar Works, to devote all his time and energy to his vision. Except Griffiths Guitar Works was on the verge of bankruptcy. Griffiths had continually borrowed money against the company, which was then his only source of funding for crucial research and development. He went to ACF Equity, a venture capital firm in Halifax, and two private investors to convince them to contribute some seed money. "I said, ‘Look, if you guys don’t put money in now, I’m going to lose my first business and this project is going to die on the vine.’" Thanks to the commercial potential of his idea, he secured a total of $250,000 in seed capital to make the final payment on his injection molds, prototypes and patent applications. "I considered quitting a thousand times," Griffiths confides. "Six years is a long time." Lots of people told him his idea was crazy. But he wanted proof that his concept either was or was not technically possible. "And I never got proof. As many doors as I had slammed in my face, nobody ever gave me real logical evidence to prove that what I was trying to achieve wouldn’t work." Griffiths cites David Gill, plant manager of Terra Nova Shoes, as being both a friend and business mentor. He also credits the GENESIS Centre, an incubator established by Memorial University for high-tech companies, for providing help that included an office, consulting and administrative support. Griffiths produced five prototype guitars with the Griffiths Active Bracing System.TM All received an enthusiastic welcome at the world’s largest musical instrument trade show in Los Angeles. Buoyed by the trade show success, he raised $2.5 million in investment to start a new company, Garrison Guitars, to market his technology "as a more intelligent way to build guitars." In February 2001, Griffiths walked into an empty 20,000-square-foot factory in St. John’s and set up his manufacturing line. By July, he had shipped his first guitars to a distributor in Australia. Garrison Guitars now has over 60 employees in a state-of-the art manufacturing facility. Its unique internal braces are made in 45 seconds, compared with 2½ hours for the conventional piece-by-piece wood-assembly method. Production has expanded to 12,000 guitars a year. Griffiths, who has received three U.S. patents for his innovations, has won dozens of awards, including a Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters’ Canadian Innovation Award in 2001. Garrison Guitars have been featured in numerous trade magazines and on television’s The Discovery Channel. The guitars are played by artists such as Alanis Morisette, The Bare Naked Ladies, Blue Rodeo, Stompin’ Tom Connors, The Tragically Hip, Nils Lofgren, Kim Mitchell, Great Big Sea and others. Griffiths, 30, has balanced his entrepreneurial successes with volunteerism averaging 650 hours a year, for organizations such as the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, Young Entrepreneurs Association, the Music Industry Association, Heart and Stroke Foundation, and Kinsmen Club. Griffiths continues to innovate. Garrison Guitars has launched a redesigned bracing system that reduces the guitar’s overall weight and enhances the sound. Griffiths is also proud that, along with their unique frame, 80 per cent of his guitars feature Newfoundland birch as their primary tone wood. He chose ‘Garrison’ for his company from Garrison Hill, a prominent old street name in St. John’s. "There’s no real reason why this business is in Newfoundland, except for the fact that I’m a passionate Newfoundlander and this is my home," Griffiths notes. "I wanted to prove that you don’t need to be in Nashville and California to compete on the global stage." | ||
| Captpete |
As I mentioned before, my good friend and musical mentor is the house musician at the little local pub back home. Midweek, it’s acoustic and he plays solo, except with his wife backing him up with a 5-string electric bass. You never knew which guitar or guitars he was going to show up with, and frequently there was a new one to check out. Like myself, he is a traditionalist, and there was always one more out there that he just had to own. One particular evening he showed up with his latest acquisition, and this time it was plastic. I couldn’t believe it, but he said he really liked it. I’ll admit, it sounded pretty good going through the PA system, but it didn’t do that much for me unplugged. I don’t remember what the brand was, but I do recall that it was black, maybe like carbon fiber, and of course, the action was dead on. But that might be because his wife had fiddled with it a little bit. For that matter, any guitar of his that I ever picked up was dead on. On the acoustic nights, when he wasn’t working his magic in front of a 5-piece band with some old Fender, dueling leads with the sax player, or working that slide on some old Allman Bro’s tune, he would sit on a stool that was right in front of an aircon register. I think the thing he liked most about the plastic one was that he didn’t have to keep retuning it four or five times per set. A plastic guitar? I don’t know. I remember reading about all the research and engineering that went into figuring out where to put all those silly holes in the Ovations. Personally, I think they could have saved a lot of money by just putting a little CD player inside. Might be just the thing for the campfire, though. But I don’t think I could ever fall in love with something like that. I would like to hear one, though. But since I only play six chords, it’s real important to me that those six sound good! | ||
| Captpete |
And BTY, Sandblast... You ever try water skiing? (I think you might be a natural.) GREAT pic! Oh, and what's that you're playing in the other pic? A violin or a fiddle? If it's the latter, we're gonna need you big time at this shindig. | ||
| Captpete |
Oh, shame on me. I should have looked at their website before I started spouting off. It's a real guitar with plastic braces. The best of both worlds, perhaps? Might not be takin' one of those to the drunken campfire after all. I'd better shut up. | ||
| Captpete |
Well… I know I shouldn’t be hogging this thread, but everyone on the mainland’s in bed, and I’ve got no one to talk to. So, I’ve perused the Garrison website pretty thoroughly, including the reviews, and this does look interesting. My custom 12-string comes in at a mere $1570. That’s not a lot of money for a good guitar. But, of course, I want to hear one. No, I want to hear a bunch of ‘em. So I guess that means that the first stop has to be at the Griffith’s Guitar Works. I’d like to see the factory as well. That would be interesting. But my big question is, can I pick out the wood while I’m there? And how quick can they build it? (Heck, they make the brace in 45 seconds, and the neck in under 5 minutes!) Could I pick out the wood on day 1, and be playing it before I leave? How neighborly are the neighbors in those parts, Newfie? Just how much juice have you got with these folks? I had a feeling this thread was going to get me in trouble. I haven’t had a 12-string for years. Lots of years, back when I only played three chords. I bet I could msoke one these days with six. OK. Y’all got a little respite coming ‘cause I’m leaving on a fishing trip in the morning. Be back in a week or so. Capt. Pete | ||
| Court |
>>>>can I pick out the wood while I’m there? That's what Lyle Lovett did with one of our other motorcycling buddies, Bill Collings, who just happens to build a pretty fair guitar in Texas. I have a Washburn 12-string and confess it's one of the best sounding I've heard. Washburn guitars are well made, beautiful, sound incredible and are CHEAP. I got it, originally, for one song. . . some of you may recall when John Lennon leaned back in the chair and played "you've got to hide your love away". Anyway. . one sharp in G, two in D . . .I can learn this. | ||
| Buellbozo |
Sandblast-Nice pix! "where Bob Wills is still the KING!" "AAAHHHHH...FIDDLES"  | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
And BTY, Sandblast... You ever try water skiing? (I think you might be a natural.) Pete, it's always great to start the day with a big ol' belly laugh, thanks. I bet I could msoke one these days with six. "Up in msoke, that's where I want to be..." (anyone remember this movie???) Bomber, Rockstock '07 has your name written all over it -- see you there??? Pete, you be safe out there, and thanks for the grins 'n giggles this morning. i agree, a prompt visit to Griffiths Guitar Works (and a group photo on Garrison Hill?) is most definitely in order when we arrive on the Rock. i'll have my Garrison well before Rockstock (gotta practice up on "Little Brown Jug" and "A Horse With No Name," doncha know), but who knows, maybe i'll be ready for a custom 12-string by then, too... Court, have you seen the "Concert for George" DVD yet? FB | ||
| Bomber |
Cap -- I can play three chords for a long far (or could, if I ever got my calluses back -- you guys are givin me idears -- just what I needed, more of em -- I am liable to follow my own {sage, Jer?} advice, and sign up for lessons -- the fear of wasting good money may just get me back on the porch, which is, of course, the best place ever to play) | ||
| Newfie_buell |
This is getting Scary. Capt. Pete and Ferris on the Rock at the same time. YIKES "If you build them, they will come" of something like that. You know that the pricing here on the island may be better as well. | ||
| Bomber |
btw -- just a little off topic (if a Badweb thread does stray a bit, would it still be a badweb thread) I received the DVD of Cream's 5 night stand at the Royal ALbert Hall -- if you are anything approaching a fan of the band, or of any of the individual players, rent it, borrow it, see it -- While it may have been a far amount of time since Eric Clapton pushed the bounds of guitar heroics, expanded the planet's understanding of what the blues may be, or just knocked the walls down with ferocious playing, he is still a master (and exactly why is it that the concept of the Lion in Winter is so appealing to me lately?) -- he plays these songs, not note for note the way they were orinigally recorded, but as if they were written last week, and new Jack Bruce looked a bit frail, had a high architect's stool to lean against, and, to be honest, as I watched his image walking on stage, I wouldn't have bet against him collapsing mid-show -- as soon as he began to play, any doubts disappeared -- he played his bass as if it were lead all through the show, and reminded me why Cream was a group, not Clapton's backup band -- we deffinately need for jazz bassists in our rock As for Ginger Baker, what's to say -- he played melodically, liltingly -- he swung, he kept metronome-like time (not always the case with drummers), and pulled the other two back to the tune when they wandered a bit far afield -- again, proof that some jazz would greatly help the musicianship in our rock -- all in all, knowing what I do, if I'd not received the DVD as a gift, I'd buy the sucker -- at list | ||
| Court |
Kinda like Pete Townshend at the Post 9/11 Concert for America. Paul McCartney was pretty much a commercial dissappointment, but Townshend ROCKED. | ||
| Kevyn |
..."my advice to you is to buy an inexpensive guitar, around the 100-200 dollar range.. why? because you’re a beginner. The money you save is better spent on lessons"... got a chuckle outta that...Neil Young 'claims' to have taken just two guitar lessons; the rest he figured out on his own. Went next door to visit the neighbors and there on the hall table was a new Martin Backpacker that arrived for Christmas...last one succumbed to water immersion in a canoe! My Bro' in law's oldest daughter (15) is expressing interest in playing guitar...so this whole discussion has led me on a quest to obtain a reasonable instrument for the niece---nothing too expensive in case her interests are short lived but good enough to fan the creative fires. She may never achieve commercial stardom or widespread acclaim but if she plays just to entertain herself and enjoys the melodies plucked from strings and caught between finger and ear it will be worthwhile. | ||
| Newfie_buell |
Kevyn, Thats how it started for my daughter three years ago. Now she is up to 4 guitars, 1 electric bass, 1 Clarinet and 1 Trumpet. I hope she don't give it up. | ||
| Court |
The world is full of Neil Young's and Kerry Livgrens who never took a lesson. But much of that is urban legend as well and I've had folks laugh at me as if taking lessons if a form or surrender. Personally, I am as taken with the entire mathematics (music is nothing but a form of Algebra) of the entire thing and how "free form" plays into it. I am training under a fellow by the name of Rich Peare and I'd say that lessons are the high point of the week. Like riding bikes, some days I'm hot and some days I totally suck. Cool stuff any way ya look at it. . . | ||
| Tripp |
i discovered teaching guitar advanced my playing faster than anything! ferris, it might not hurt to include any interested parties (kids if you have em) in the lessons if'n you're gonna teach yerself. i went from being able to play a half a dozen songs, to a few dozen by teaching a friend of mine how to play! if you learn something, a song with two chords say then teach it to someone man, you'll be able to rock that song in no time! and if you get one of them handy dandy electric tuners, you'll be able to play the same notes as just about anyone because most musicians do the concert A @ 440, so once you tune in you'll be on the right wavelength so to speak. (Message edited by tripp on January 16, 2006) |
